Manhattan Christian College Men’s Basketball program has signed a total of nine newcomers that include five transfers and four high school seniors for the 2024-25 season. The newest members of the Thunder are:

TRANSFERS

Fred Criqui – 6’8, Forward – Doane University

Played in 29 games and started in 4 games in two years for the Tigers. In his two seasons, Criqui averaged 10.2 minutes per game and 3.1 points on 42.6% shooting from the field to go along with 2.0 rebounds. He also shot 81.8% from the free throw line. Prepped at St. Marys High School in St. Marys, KS.

Hayes Woodard – 6’2, Guard – Southwestern College

Part of the Moundbuilders program for two years. Prepped at Maize South High School in Wichita, KS.

Jordan Carter – 6’2, Guard – Southwestern College

Part of the Moundbuilders program for two years. Prepped at Bartlesville High School in Bartlesville, OK.

Andrew Owens – 6’6, Forward – Judson University/Mesa Community College

Played in 4 games for the Eagles in 2022-23. Played in 18 games and started 6 for the Thunderbirds in 2023-24. Averaged 13.7 minutes per game and 2.7 points on 40.4% shooting from the field and 37.5% from 3 to go along with 1.9 rebounds. Prepped at Mesquite High School in Gilbert, AZ.

Xavier Lucas – 6’3, Guard – Western Oklahoma State College/Eastern Oklahoma State College

Part of the Pioneers program in 2022-23. Played in 30 games for the Mountaineers in 2023-24. Averaged 6.2 points per game on 44.9% shooting from the field and 32.1% from 3 to go along with 3.5 rebounds. He also shot 75.0% from the free throw line. Prepped at East Central High School in Tulsa, OK.

FRESHMAN

Marcus Bauman – 6’0, Guard – Sabetha High School (KS)

Led the Bluejays to a 19-4 record as a senior. Bauman averaged 14.0 points per game on 49.0% shooting from the field and 40.0% from 3 to go along with 5.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists. He also shot 81.0% from the free throw line. Named Big Seven All-League, 2^nd Team 3A All-State, and Burlington Invite All-Tournament team. As a junior, Bauman was named Big Seven All-League and Honorable Mention 3A All-State.

Dylan Gansel – 6’2, Guard – Hill City High School (KS)

Led the Ringnecks to a 17-5 record and to a Mid-Continent League Regular Season title as a senior. Gansel averaged 16.1 points per game on 47.8% shooting from the field and 42.4% from 3 to go along with 5.8 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 1.5 steals. He also shot 82.0% from the free throw line. Named Honorable Mention 2A All-State.

Tatum Pierce – 6’3, Guard – Greenwood High School (TX)

Led the Rangers to a 22-12 record and to a 4A District 3 Championship. Pierce averaged 25.7 points per game, 6.4 rebounds, and 7.1 assists. Named 4A District 3 Most Valuable Player, 1^st Team All-District, and 4A Region 1 All-Region. Along with these accolades he was also named to the THSCA 4A Super Elite Team. As a junior, Pierce was named 4A District 3 Newcomer of the Year.

Jonathan Beukelman – 6’7, Forward – Moriarty High School (NM)

Led the Pintos to 7 wins as a senior. Beukelman averaged 3.9 points per game on 51.9% shooting from the field to go along with 3.4 rebounds. He also shot 60.0% from the free throw line.

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The men's basketball team wrapped up their season in a 66-81 loss in the NCCAA Central Region Semifinals against the #2 seeded Kansas Christian College Falcons on Thursday evening. For the year the Thunder finished 17-13 and 12-0 in conference play. MCC won the conference title for the 5th consecutive season while also finishing runners-up at the conference tournament. 

"I'm proud of this group for the things they had to overcome in order to come together to win some games. Each of these young men brought something to the table that is worthy of being proud of and I can't wait to see what's next," commented Head Coach Jordan Strom. 

For seniors Alex Sturtz, Caden Hurla, Desmond Lindsey, Dyelan Reed, Jamie Juncal and Mason Ellis this will be the last time that they don the Thunder uniform. Seniors Hurla and Lindsey joined the program during the COVID season in 2020 and are four year members. They experienced four conference titles, two three tournament titles, three trips to the NCCAA national tournament and two final four berths. Alex Sturtz joined the program in 2021-22, playing for three years and amassing almost 50 career blocks. Mason Ellis joined the team this season with one year left of eligibility and his impact was felt immediately as a defensive force. Jamie Juncal earned honorable mention all-conference honors this season while scoring more than 500 points in his two seasons in Manhattan and Dyelan Reed leaves the program as a 1,000 point scorer, 1st team All-Conference and 1st team All-Region performer. 

"This senior class filled many roles for our program over the years. Great teammates, defensive stoppers, lights out scorers... you name it and they had to do it for us to have success," stated Strom. "I'm so grateful for the time that we all had together and while I'm sad that their time with us is over I know they each have something greater in their lives." 

This version of Thunder basketball is over, but a young nucleus looks to lead next season. For more information about the MCC Basketball season or MCC Athletics check us out on social media @mccmbb or @mccathletics on "X" (formerly twitter), @mccmb_ or @mccathletics on Instagram. 

After a wild regular season that saw the men's basketball team win the regular season conference championship and finish runners-up at the MCCC Conference tournament the team now turns their attention the NCCAA Central Region tournament where they have earned the #3 seed. The team will open up region play on Tuesday, February 27th at 6:00 pm where they will host the #6 seeded Warriors of Calvary University. 

The NCCAA Central Region tournament will be played at multiple sites across the region where home games are hosted by the higher seeded team. Should MCC win on Tuesday they would advance to the semi-finals where they would travel to the #2 seeded Falcons of Kansas Christian College. The Championship game will be hosted by the highest remaining seed on Saturday, March 2nd at 6:00 pm. 

During the regular season MCC finished the region schedule with a 6-4 record. The Thunder are led in scoring by seniors Dyelan Reed (14.4 ppg) and Jamie Juncal (12.2 ppg) while freshman Davis Rokey (6.1 rpg) and junior Cody Mericle (5.4 rpg) lead the team in rebounding. Seniors Micah Lovett and Mason Ellis led the squad at 2.75 assists per game. MCC finished the regular season with the 7th best scoring defense in the NCCAA holding opponents to 72.3 ppg.

Several members of the team were honored by the Midwest Christian College Conference with awards last weekend with seniors Dyelan Reed and Micah Lovett earning 1st team All-Conference honors. Senior Jamie Juncal and freshman Davis Rokey collected Honorable Mention All-Conference awards. 

"I'm grateful for the road that we've been on this season. There have been ups and downs, but we continue to push one another and move forward. We've grown a lot as a team and continue to learn how to win together. The postseason is why you play college basketball and I'm excited to see how we respond this week," stated Coach Strom. 

To advance to the NCCAA National Tournament for the 5th consecutive season the team will need to win the NCCAA Central Region Tournament. For more updates follow @mccmbb on X (formerly Twitter) and @mccmb_ on Instagram

Central Region Tournament Seeds: 

1. Spurgeon College (8-2)
2. Kansas Christian College (8-2)
3. Manhattan Christian College (6-4)
4. Central Christian College of the Bible (3-7)
5. Barclay College (3-7)
6. Calvary University (2-8)

Post season play is here for the Men's Basketball team. After finishing the regular season 15-11 overall and 12-0 in conference play the Thunder have clinched the #1 seed in the upcoming Midwest Christian College Conference tournament. The team has earned a first round bye and will play in the semifinals on Friday February 23rd at 8:00 pm against the winner of the contest between the #4 seeded Barclay College Bears and the #5 seed the Eagles from Faith Baptist Bible College. Faith Baptist Bible College is the host of this years' conference tournament. 

"Tournament time is always fun because the season resets and everyone is 0-0 going into it. Anything can happen," stated Head Coach Jordan Strom. 

The other half of the bracket will see the #2 seeded Ozark Christian College Ambassadors taking on the #7 seeded Eagles from Emmaus Bible College while Central Christian College of the Bible will be the #3 seed and play the #6 seeded Warriors from Calvary University. Should MCC win their semifinal contest they would advance to the Conference Tournament Championship game on Saturday February 24th at 5:45 pm. If MCC were to be eliminated on Friday night they would play for 3rd place at 1:30 pm. 

"We're very excited to go and compete this weekend," said Coach Strom, "I'm very grateful for the conference and the relationships we've built with the other school and it will be fun to compete with them up in Iowa." 

You can find tournament information, game schedules, times, stats links and live stream links here. 

Midwest Christian College Conference Tournament Seeds: 

1. Manhattan Christian College (12-0)
2. Ozark Christian College (9-3)
3. Central Christian College of the Bible (6-6)
4. Barclay College (5-7)
5. Faith Baptist Bible College (5-7)
6. Calvary University (3-9)
7. Emmaus Bible College (2-10)

For the second consecutive season MCC welcomed rival, Ozark Christian College, to Manhattan as the Thunder honored seniors Caden Hurla, Desmond Lindsey, Mason Ellis, Dyelan Reed, Jamie Juncal and Alex Sturtz in their last regular season home game in Howie's Activity Center. 

The contest was a highly competitive game seeing double figure leads for both sides. Ozark came out firing hitting three point shots on four of their first eight attempts while jumping out to a 16-6 lead. MCC would battle back through the remainder of the half to take a 43-36 lead into the break. Coming out of the break Ozark dug back into their bag knocking down three pointer after three pointer. The Thunder would battle and even build up a double figure lead of their own with 1:47 left to play. But the Ambassadors would not go quietly in to the night and would finish the contest on a 7-2 run. The Thunder would hold on to win 80-75 to improve their conference record to 12-0. MCC was led in scoring by Juncal with 20 and freshman Davis Rokey with 12 points.

"I'm proud of our team tonight. They battled through an emotional evening. Our seniors came out and started the game so well for us and then the bench unit jumped right in to support their guys when their turn came. We've come a long way this year," stated Coach Jordan Strom. 

Seniors Hurla, Lindsey, Ellis, Reed, Juncal and Sturtz finish their regular season as Midwest Christian College Conference champions for the 4th year in a row and finished undefeated in conference play for a second consecutive season. 

"This senior class has been a special one," stated Coach Strom, "They are selfless at their core and always play for the right reasons. I'm grateful to be their coach and I can't wait to see how they finish." 

MCC is the #1 seed going into next weeks conference tournament hosted by Faith Baptist Bible College. They will have a first round bye and will play in the semifinals on Friday February 23rd at a time still to be determined. Check back with mccthunder.com and MCC Athletics for more information as it becomes available. 

During a wild evening inside Howie's Activity Center the men's basketball team defeated the Barclay College Bears 98-82 behind 20 points from senior Dyelan Reed and 15 points a piece from Jamie Juncal, Micah Lovett and Jaxon Hurla. The Thunder dominated the glass out rebounding the Bears by 20 while bringing down 14 offensive rebounds. The first 5 minutes of the ball game MCC held Barclay scoreless starting the game on a 14-0 run. Barclay would claw their way back into the game and cut the MCC lead to only 4 out of the break. 

The second half saw more of the same as MCC would extend their lead to as many 22. With the win the Thunder have improved their record to 13-11 overall and 10-0 in conference play, clinching at least a share of the regular season conference title for the 5th straight season. With a win this weekend they would clinch the title outright. 

"I'm proud of this team and the way they've come together this season. We've experienced more adversity than we have in the past few seasons and could have shut it down a time or two, but they keep showing up for work and I'm grateful for that," said Head Coach Jordan Strom. 

MCC is back in action this weekend as they wrap up the regular season when they play host to Calvary University on Friday night and Ozark Christian College on Saturday afternoon.